Jordan Pickford admits his life has changed since reaching a World Cup semi-final with England in the summer, but only for the better. “The first thing I noticed was my followers on social media went through the roof, which I was very happy about,” the Everton goalkeeper says. “The other thing is that you get a lot more people recognizing you in the street, but mostly they just want to say hello and well done, so I don’t mind that. It’s quite touching really.”
The former Sunderland player has established himself as England’s No 1 at the unusually young age of 24 and a relatively early stage of his career. “I was always taught that if you see a chance you should take it. Sometimes you only get one shot in life as a footballer. Mark Prudhoe, my old goalkeeping coach at Sunderland academy, always used to tell me to grab every chance that came my way and things haven’t worked out too badly.
“I don’t know how long I can stay England No 1 but I reckon if I keep performing well for Everton week in, week out it should take care of itself. Gareth Southgate showed a lot of faith in me at the World Cup but I feel I was able to repay him. Now it’s about keeping going and taking the next step.”
Pickford is positive about the future: he does not necessarily believe that semi-final might be the high water mark in his international career. “Getting knocked out hurt us all and we could tell the nation felt the same, but we don’t have to spend the rest of our playing days thinking: ‘What if?’. Disappointment can spur you on and so can a bit of success. We were 22 minutes from a World Cup final, we exceeded expectations, and hopefully we can kick on from there. If you look at France and Germany, they had their disappointments with young squads along the way to winning the last two World Cups. They were losing in quarters and semis at one stage, but they kept at it and managed to put it right. We are making progress, we just need to keep improving.”
The goalkeeper believes his move to Everton helped earn him international recognition or, put another way, had he stayed at Sunderland he might not have found himself selected ahead of rivals playing at Premier League level. He makes no secret of his boyhood allegiance to Sunderland but nevertheless found the decision to change clubs an easy one to make.
“As soon as I was told there was interest from Everton I knew I wanted to do it, I said yes straight away,” he explains. “Funnily enough Goodison Park was one of the few away grounds I visited as a fan. I can remember the date, 28 December 2008, and I can remember Mikel Arteta scoring a worldy as we went down 3-0. We got battered, actually. The only thing I remember about the stadium was that we didn’t get a very good view, but I enjoyed the atmosphere.
“It was quite hostile, the stadium felt a bit historic, and although I was too young to ever go I imagined Roker Park must have been quite similar back in the day. I was only 14 that day but I remember the date because it was just after Christmas. Me and my mates had a bit of money for a change so I asked my mam if I could go with them on a supporters’ coach. I went to every home game back then, and not many away matches because they cost such a lot, but the trip to Everton always stuck in my mind.”
Ten years and a World Cup later, Pickford has just signed a new six-year contract with the Merseyside club on the back of his performances in Russia, on the sort of wages he could never have dreamed about as a football-mad schoolboy.
“I’ll tell you the first thing I did after signing my new deal,” he says. “I thought some sort of celebration might be in order so I went for a Nando’s! I got a takeaway for me and the missus, but that’s me all over. I’m on a good contract now but I try not to think about the financial side of matters too much, I leave that to other people. I just love playing the game, I always have. I just want to keep winning and be the best goalkeeper I can be.”
(The Guardian)
